Merson went onto criticise Aston Villa for firing Tim Sherwood, who used to be Tottenham head coach, until Daniel Levy decided he wanted to hire Mauricio Pochettino instead.

Sherwood led Villa to a win against Spurs at White Hart Lane last season, but it will be caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald in the dugout this time around.

Merson added: "They've sacked him and got no one in, how can you sack someone and then not have a replacement lined up?"

Villa will go into the game rock bottom at the foot of the table, requiring a shock result to turn their fortunes around. Spurs have not lost any of the last three games Merson has tipped them to win, and will hope that recent record remains intact.

Dan Coombs

Dan Coombs is a writer who is keen to embrace the internet revolution. He first started writing for us in June 2011 and commenced his new role as Sports Editor in February 2012.
As a trained journalist he has met famous faces from Mr T to Boris Johnson. He once featured in an England World Cup music video too, but it did not make the charts.
He grew up wanting to be a Formula 1 driver, but it looks like this dream has passed him by. Instead, he hopes you enjoy reading his writing on our site, as we seek to debate the day's sporting hot topics.